succeed, and that would be it for the rest of mankind. Maybe for all life on the planet. I don’t see why these things wouldn’t be able to reproduce in any animal of a size larger than, say, a cat.

?It has to die, and in order for that to happen somebody’s got to kill me. You up to it??

?You don’t have to worry about that.?

?It’s kind of funny, in a way. I’ve done so much killing lately and now I find I can’t manage just one more. Maybe because I’ve had to concentrate so hard on surviving. So you’ve got to help me.? She met his gaze unwaveringly.

?Just do it. No speeches.?She turned her back on him. ?Come on,?she urged him, ?do it! You’re supposed to be a killer… kill me. Come on, Dillon. Push yourself. Look back. I think you can do it, you big, ugly son of a bitch.?

He studied her slim form, the pale neck and slumped shoulders. A single well-directed blow would do it, cut through her spinal cord and vertebrae quick and clean. Death would be almost instantaneous. Then he could turn his attention to her belly, to the monstrous organism growing inside. Drag the corpse to the smelter and dump it all in the furnace. It would all be over and done with in a couple of minutes. He raised the axe.

The muscles in his face and arms tightened convulsively and the axe made a faint whooshing sound as it cut through the stale air. He brought it down and around full force… to slam into the wall next to her head. She jerked at the impact, then blinked and whirled on him.

?What the hell is this? You’re not doing me any favors.?

?I don’t like losin’ a fight, not to nobody, not to nothin’. The big one out there’s already killed half my guys, 194

Alan Dean Foster

got the other half scared shitless. As long as it’s alive,

you’re not saving any universe.?

?What’s wrong? I thought you were a killer.?

?I want to get this thing and I need you to do it. If it won’t kill you, then maybe that helps us fight it.?She stared at him helplessly. ?Otherwise, fuck you. Go kill yourself.?

?We knock its ass off, then you’ll kill me??

?No problem. Quick, painless, easy.?He reached up to tear the axe out of the wall.

The remaining men had assembled in the main hall. Aaron stood off to one side, sipping something from a tumbler. Dillon and Ripley stood side by side in the center, confronting the others.